News: More Japanese music games are working their way across the Pacific.

Mastiff, the company?resposnible for bringing La Pucelle: Tactics to America is mining the Japanese game landscape yet again. This time they have picked up Technic Beat, a music game that encourages players to catch and dance to the music and if they're successful, allows them to create music of their own.

"Technic Beat is family entertainment with something for music and dance lovers, Namco fans, and anyone else looking for something different." says Bill Swartz, Head Woof at Mastiff LLC. I'll leave it up to you to figure out what a Head Woof is.

The press release describes the game better than I think I can, so here goes: In Technic Beat, players listen to music represented in the game by radiating concentric rings of sound. Picking up the beat, they dance into the middle of the rings and try to "catch" the music. If successful, they achieve the power to manipulate the sound rings and create entirely new music. As players progress and gain skill they are rewarded with spectacular visual displays, bonuses, and power ups.

Technic Beat Features:

Arcade mode ? use the Tension Meter to measure your performance. Push it up and you're on to the next round!

Free mode ? choose the songs you want to play. Save and replay your performances, and control the camera and music.